… and spring is now in full season.

The saxophone is one of those instruments that people seem to either love or hate. It was invented to be the lovechild of the trumpet and clarinet – capable of the loud, bright tones of the brass as well as the soft, warm timbre of the clarinet. As it became more popular, it found its way into a number of orchestral compositions (most famously, Bolero & Pictures at an Exhibition), but its popularity exploded in the jazz idiom. Here was an instrument that could outplay the trumpet in speed and range, while being as expressive and sensual as a clarinet.

Here’s the king of big bands, Count Basie and his Orchestra, playing a number of usher out the month – April in Paris.

I just love the part at 0:21, when the sax chorus plays with that wobbly vibrato – no other instrument could get away with that!